Leave it to Eva

by Judi Curtin

  Then, on the last night of my holidays, Ruby came to stay over, and I was totally glad to see her.

  ‘I’m so glad you invited me,’ she said. ‘I leave for London in a few days, and I wanted to see you before I go.’

  ‘Are you excited?’

  ‘Yeah, excited and a bit scared. Mostly excited though. I know it’s going to be amazing, and if it weren’t for you, it wouldn’t be happening.’

  ‘Well I’m glad I was able to help someone,’ I said.

  ‘How’s Kate?’ asked Ruby, guessing what I was thinking of.

  I told her all about the foster family.

  ‘So basically, I wasted your time in London,’ I said. ‘I didn’t manage to change anything.’

  ‘But you did your best,’ she said. ‘And that means something.’

  ‘Does it?’

  She nodded. ‘And besides, foster care isn’t so bad.’

  Something in her voice made me look up.

  ‘You sound like you know that from personal experience.’

  ‘When Mum had her accident, she was in hospital for months, and there was no one to mind me and Jenny, so …’

  ‘But you never said.

  She giggled. ‘You never asked.’

  ‘So what was it like?’

  She shrugged. ‘It was OK. I missed Mum and our house like crazy, but the foster family was really nice. I still visit them sometimes. Kate will be fine, you’ll see.’

  ‘I just wish I knew that for sure. I have no way of contacting her until I get the Dalys’ phone number and …’

  Just then my phone rang.

  ‘It’s an unknown number,’ I said. ‘It’s probably Joey and some of his friends playing one of their not-funny tricks.’

  But it was Kate.

  ‘It’s so good to hear from you,’ I said. ‘Whose phone are you using?’

  ‘It’s mine. Joan and Denis bought it for me.’

  ‘Joan and Denis?’

  ‘The Dalys.’

  I grinned. If The Dalys had turned into Joan and Denis already, that had to be good news.

  ‘Anyway,’ she said. ‘What time are you leaving tomorrow? Joan and Denis said they’ll bring me to Seacove to pick up a few things from home, and if you’re still there, we can hang out for a bit.’

  ‘We’re not going till after lunch.’

  ‘Perfect. See you at eleven then.’

  And before I could say any more, she hung up.

  Ruby left early the next morning, and I waited very impatiently for Kate.

  When she arrived, we hugged for a long time. Then I stepped away and looked at her.

  She wasn’t fully back to normal, but her eyes were a bit brighter, and I could see tiny traces of the clever, funny girl I’d known the year before.

  ‘Let’s go visit Jeremy,’ she said. ‘He’ll be really surprised to see me again so soon.’

  A few minutes later, we were lying on our usual spot under the tree.

  ‘So tell me everything,’ I said.

  ‘What’s to tell? Joan and Denis are really nice, and their house is totally cool. It’s kind of like a mini-zoo. They’ve got three dogs, four cats, heaps of birds and even a pet donkey.’

  ‘That sounds good.’

  ‘Sometimes it’s still a bit weird. When I wake up in the mornings, I forget for a minute where I am – and when I remember, it’s …’

  ‘It’s what?’

  ‘I don’t know really. Joan and Denis couldn’t be kinder but … it’s just … it’s just that I don’t feel like I’m really at home there.’

  ‘How do you mean?’

  ‘I feel like I’ve got to be polite all the time. I’m never sure if it’s OK to wander around in my pyjamas, or if Joan and Denis are going to get mad at me if I lie on the couch watching tv all afternoon.’

  ‘That sounds kind of normal to me.’

  ‘Does it?’

  I nodded. ‘And remember,’ I said. ‘You’ve only been there for a few days. It’s going to take you a while to settle in properly.’

  ‘You think so?’

  ‘I know so.’

  She smiled. ‘You’re probably right – anyway, every day is a little bit less strange than the one that went before.’

  ‘So you’re happy?’

  She hesitated for so long before answering, that I had to turn to see if she’d fallen asleep or run away or something.

  ‘Happy’s a big word,’ she said slowly. ‘It’s like you predicted all the time. Everything’s fine.’

  But was fine the best Kate could hope for?

  Stories are supposed to end with the heroine living happily ever after.

  Was sort-of-happy-ever-after good enough?

  Later we walked back home.

  ‘Mum’s making pancakes,’ I said. ‘Denis and Joan aren’t coming until four, so you’ll have plenty of time to eat some.’

  ‘Yum,’ said Kate. ‘But first I need to pick up some stuff from my place.’

  ‘Sure,’ I said, following her.

  Then she stopped, embarrassed. ‘I’d kind of like to go on my own,’ she said.

  ‘Sure,’ I said again. ‘I’ll wait here.’

  It was nice sitting on the wall in the sunshine, listening to the birds singing in the hedges.

  Then the sound of a car coming along the lane, ruined the peace.

  ‘That so isn’t fair,’ I muttered, convinced that it was Denis and Joan back too early.

  But then the car came closer, and I could see that the only occupant was a man – a familiar man.

  But it couldn’t be.

  Or could it?

  The car came even closer, and at last I could see for sure.

  It was Kate’s dad, Patrick.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  ‘O-mi-god,’ I breathed as the car stopped and Patrick climbed out.

  ‘You again,’ he said, and I couldn’t tell if he was glad or sad to see me.

  I looked desperately towards Kate’s house, but there was no sign of her.

  I didn’t know if I wanted her to appear or not.

  ‘I suppose you’re surprised to see me,’ said Patrick.

  ‘Of course I’m surprised,’ I said coolly. ‘You said you weren’t coming. You said––’

  ‘I said a lot of things, and most of them were rubbish.’

  ‘I can’t argue with that,’ I said.

  ‘Anyway, I’m here now.’

  Suddenly I had a horrible thought.

  ‘Hey,’ I said sharply. ‘If you’re thinking of hanging out with Kate for an afternoon, and then running out on her again, that sooo isn’t a good idea.’

  ‘But—’

  I know it’s rude to interrupt adults, but I didn’t let that small detail stop me, ‘Kate’s moved in with a foster family,’ I said. ‘She’s trying really hard to make it work. If you march into her life for a few hours, and mess everything up, that would be a disaster. You can’t do it to her. It wouldn’t be fair.’

  Patrick raised one eyebrow. ‘Are you telling me what to do?’

  Suddenly I felt really brave.

  ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Actually, I am telling you what to do. Kate’s my friend, and I won’t let you hurt her all over again.’

  Now he looked old and sad.

  ‘You were right, you know,’ he said.

  ‘About what?’

  ‘Zoe knew nothing about Kate. I know that was wrong, but somehow, I’d never found the right time to tell her. After talking to you, though, I knew I couldn’t live a lie any more. So I told her everything.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And she was really mad at me for a while, but once she got over that, she started to think about finding a way to help Kate.’

  ‘And?’

  ‘And my new job is as a journalist for an environmental magazine. It’s a job I can do from pretty much anywhere. And Zoe’s taken time out from her career to be with Simon, so the three of us are going to move back here with Kate. We’re going to start over. Th
at’s if …’

  ‘If what?’

  Now he looked even older and sadder than before.

  ‘If Kate can ever forgive me.’

  ‘That’s a big “if”,’ I said. ‘Kate’s the most stubborn girl I’ve ever met.’

  For the first time he smiled. ‘Good,’ he said. ‘That’s exactly how I remember her.’

  The sound of Kate’s front door slamming made us both jump.

  ‘Hey, Eva,’ called Kate from over the hedge, ‘can you come and give me a hand please? This bag is huge, and really heavy.’

  ‘Sorry,’ I said. ‘I’m kind of busy, but I’ll send someone else, OK?’

  ‘Whatever. Just hurry before my back breaks.’

  Patrick looked like he had turned to stone, so I shook his arm.

  ‘Didn’t you hear that?’ I asked. ‘I think your daughter needs you.’

  He took a deep, shaky breath and started to walk. I followed him as far as the gap in the hedge. He stopped walking when he saw Kate standing on the doorstep of the house.

  Kate looked up and saw him.

  There was a very long silence, and I had to bite my tongue to stop myself saying something stupid.

  Finally Patrick spoke two strangled, choked words.

  ‘My Kate.’

  Kate spoke a single, equally strangled word.

  ‘Dad?’

  Patrick walked slowly towards her, and as he walked, I watched the expression on Kate’s face change from surprise to joy to anger and back to surprise again. She folded her arms, and stared at her father, watching his every move. She didn’t turn away, though – not for a single fraction of a second. I knew that was a good sign.

  I turned around and walked home.

  I was beginning to think that maybe this story was going to have a happy ending after all.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  And that was pretty much that.

  As soon as I got home from Seacove I called over to Victoria’s place.

  ‘So how was California?’ I asked, as soon as we’d finished hugging. ‘Was it really as good as you said in all those texts?’

  ‘It was totally brilliant,’ she said. ‘And how was Seacove?’

  I hesitated, and she looked a bit embarrassed. Then I grinned. ‘Funnily enough,’ I said, ‘Seacove was totally brilliant too.’

  A few weeks later, I was settled back at school, and it was almost like all the crazy stuff with Ruby and Kate had never happened.

  And then one day I got two letters.

  The first was from Ruby:

  Hi Eva,

  I know this is the twenty-first century, but my ancient English teacher has insisted that we all write a letter today-so I’ve decided to write to you. This place is great. I’m sharing a room with a girl called Asmita – she’s really nice – and so are most of the other kids here. Mrs Armitage is still the scariest person I’ve ever met, but she’s ok underneath – I think.

  She often asks me about you – which I think is totally weird!

  We swim every single morning and evening. One weekend I was allowed to go and stay with Jenny. She says ‘hi’. (And Andrea says ‘ciao.’)Class is nearly over so I’d better finish.

  Looking forward to seeing you at Christmas.

  Your friend,

  Ruby

  Xxxx

  PS If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here. You’re amazing!!

  The next letter was from Kate.

  HEY, EVA!

  HOW ARE THINGS?

  I KNOW IT’S THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, AND I HAVE A PHONE NOW, (JOAN AND DENIS LET ME KEEP IT) BUT I GOT USED TO WRITING TO YOU LAST YEAR, SO…

  THINGS ARE GOOD HERE. ZOE IS TOTALLY GREAT. SHE DOESN’T TRY TO BE A MUM, WHICH IS A HUGE RELIEF – SHE’S MORE LIKE A COOL BIG SISTER.

  SIMON IS ACTUALLY THE SWEETEST BABY EVER. HE CALLS ME KAY-KAY WHICH IS ADORABLE.

  DAD AND I ARE SLOWLY GETTING USED TO EACH OTHER. SOMETIMES WE HAVE THE WORST ROWS EVER. ZOE JUST LAUGHS AND SAYS IT’S BECAUSE I NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO BE A PROPER TEENAGER BEFORE.

  MARTHA’S GETTING A LOT STRONGER AND THE DOCTORS SAY SHE’LL BE ABLE TO COME HOME AFTER CHRISTMAS. DAD’S SAVING UP TO BUILD AN EXTENSION SO THERE WILL BE ROOM FOR US ALL.

  DAD AND ZOE AND SIMON HAD TO GO BACK TO LONDON FOR A FEW DAYS LAST WEEK. THEY ASKED ME TO GO WITH THEM BUT I SAID NO. I DIDN’T WANT TO MISS SCHOOL – SO I STAYED WITH JOAN AND DENIS. THEY’RE REALLY NICE – BUT I GUESS YOU’D FIGURED THAT OUT ALREADY.

  ANYWAY, I’D BETTER GO. I PROMISED TO MIND SIMON FOR A WHILE SO DAD AND ZOE CAN GO FOR A WALK.

  LOVE FROM KATE

  PS DAD TOLD ME ABOUT YOU GOING TO SEE HIM IN LONDON. THAT WAS TOTALLY CRAZY, BUT PROBABLY THE BEST THING YOU EVER DID IN YOUR WHOLE LIFE. THANK YOU SO MUCH, EVA – YOU’RE AMAZING.

  And even though I don’t feel the slightest bit amazing, I do have a confession to make – that night I went to bed with a huge smile on my face!

  Eva Gordon is a bit of a princess …

  But when her dad loses his job and she has to move house and change schools, she realises things have changed forever. A chance visit to a fortune teller gives her the idea that doing good may help her to turn things back the way they were. Eva (with the help of best friend Victoria) starts to help everyone she can – whether they want it or not! And maybe being nice is helping Eva herself just as much …

  The story of Eva’s marvellous, memorable summer!

  Eva Gordon likes fashion, fun and hanging out with friends, so she can’t believe she has to spend the entire summer in a

  cottage in the countryside with her parents. Worse, it looks like she’s going to be stuck with Kate, the girl next door who doesn’t care about being cool … But when the girls have to pull together to solve a problem, Eva finds out that there’s more to life than having the right hair or clothes and sometimes ‘weird’ girls can make the best friends.

  About the Author

  JUDI CURTIN grew up in Cork and now lives in Limerick where she is married with three children. Judi is the author of Eva’s Journey & Eva’s Holiday as well as the best-selling ‘Alice & Megan’ series. With Roisin Meaney, she is the author of See If I Care. She has also written three novels, Sorry, Walter, From Claire to Here and Almost Perfect. Her books have sold into Serbian, Portuguese, German, Russian, Lithuanian and most recently to Australia and New Zealand.

  The ‘Alice & Megan’ series

  Alice Next Door

  Alice Again

  Don’t Ask Alice

  Alice in the Middle

  Bonjour Alice

  Alice & Megan Forever

  Alice to the Rescue

  Alice & Megan’s Cookbook

  The ‘Eva’ Series

  Eva’s Journey

  Eva’s Holiday

  Leave it to Eva

  Other Books

  See If I Care (with Roisin Meaney)

  Copyright

  This eBook edition first published 2012 by The O’Brien Press Ltd,

  12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Ireland.

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  E-mail: books@obrien.ie

  Website: www.obrien.ie

  First published 2012.

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-84717-538-0

  Text © copyright Judi Curtin 2012

  Copyright for typesetting, layout, editing, design

  © The O’Brien Press Ltd

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  Layout and design: The O’Brien Press Ltd

  Cover illustration: Woody Fox

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